Email a friend

To

From

Thank you

Your message has been sent.

Sorry

There was an error emailing this page.

The tricky balancing act of mobile security

FREE

Become An Insider

Sign up now and get free access to
hundreds of Insider articles, guides, reviews, interviews, blogs, and other premium content
from the best tech brands on the Internet: CIO, CSO, Computerworld, InfoWorld,
IT World and Network World Learn more.

Your workers' smartphones could be the weakest link in your security plan. Here's how to protect the devices and secure the data

The march toward mobility at Scotiabank is pretty typical: first laptops to enable alternative work arrangements for employees, now smartphones and tablets to give workers anywhere access to information.

The Toronto-based bank, with 83,000 employees worldwide, deployed company-owned BlackBerries several years ago to personnel who require them to do their jobs more effectively, and has since asked select staffers and IT support people to pilot other smartphone brands as well.

The approach to securing those mobile devices is typical, too. The bank uses BlackBerry Enterprise Service mobile device management (MDM) software. It also requires employees to sign statements saying that they agree to let IT erase data from devices that are lost or stolen, and to take control of devices if there's a legal investigation, says Greg Thompson, vice president of enterprise security services and deputy chief information security officer at Scotiabank.